Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF)

The Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) is a multi-donor country-based pooled fund established in 2010 to support the timely allocation and disbursement of donor resources to the address the most urgent humanitarian needs in Somalia. Almost US$400 million has been allocated by SHF for humanitarian response in Somalia since 2011.

The SHF has been essential for enabling timely, coordinated and effective humanitarian action due to its distinct comparative advantages – the unearmarked nature of the Fund; the established and functioning accountability systems; integration within the existing coordination systems; and flexibility.

The SHF has two allocation modalities:

• The standard allocation modality, used for large and medium-size strategic allocation rounds, typically once or twice a year. The standard allocation strategy is approved by the HC and endorsed by the SHF Advisory Board and is the basis for project submissions.

• The reserve allocation modality is primarily intended for the rapid and flexible allocation of funds for individual allocations in the event of sudden emerg

encies or rapidly deteriorating situations, or to address the quickly emerging strategic needs.

The Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) for Somalia oversees the fund and decides on SHF funding allocations. In its role, the HC is supported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that manages the Fund on a day-to-day basis, the SHF Advisory Board and the Somalia cluster coordination structure.

2018 focus

In 2017, the SHF was vital in supporting famine prevention scale-up in Somalia, focusing on direct implementation through international and national non-governmental partners, which received 97% of all funds. More than one thirds of SHF funding was chanelled through local partners.

In 2018, the SHF will continue to focus on famine prevention response, support for NGOs, particularly local partners, and promotion of integrated response.